Ol' Skool Company
Prince Lyrics

Every once in awhile
Sometimes, you need old school companionship

You need some ol' skool company
You need friends or people in your life who appreciate a sexy groove and an old school melody.

Somebody that appreciates a sexy groove
Some people or friends who can appreciate varied genres of music

And a old school melody
People who can appreciate the charm of old music

When God, his son and the love of family
A time when people had stronger community connections and important things like family, religion, and values of God formed their pillars of life.

Ruled in the community
When people lived in a conducive and enriching environment.

The songs you sing
These are songs that you can rely on to lift you up in life.

Lift you up to heaven
These songs have the ability to inspire and enrich your life.

A heaven we can believe in
The potential to create a life that we can call heavenly.

Everybody's talkin' about hard times
Many people are overwhelmed by the current challenging times.

Like it just started yesterday
These challenging times seem to be a recent occurrence.

People eye know they've been strugglin'
There are people who are struggling.

At least it seems that way
The challenges might be more visible than the triumphs and happiness.

Fat cats on Wall Street
Wealthy capitalists.

They got a bailout
They received financial help.

While somebody else got to wait
Some other person had to deal with these hard times.

Seven hundred billion but my old neighborhood
Though there were plenty of funds, things remained the same in the old neighborhood.

Ain't nothing changed but the date
Other than moving ahead with time, nothing has improved.

Ain't nothing ever come from complaining
Complaints never bring any solutions to an issue.

Except a bitter heart, that's true
Complaining results in an embittered heart.

Follow along and you gon wanna do
Listen to my story, and you will want to do something.

Something before the next chorus is through
Take an action before the next chorus starts.

The songs we sing
Humans have many songs that have been with them through hard times.

They used to mean somethin'
These songs had a deeper meaning in life earlier.

Now every other one is just mean
Most contemporary songs lack depth and meaning they have become shallow and insensitive.

Rather than reminisce I'm telling you this
Instead of reminiscing, I am exhorting you to act.

It's time for a brand new scene
It is high time for us to create a new reality.

Everybody's sinkin' in the quicksand
Many people are slowly losing their lives or giving up everyday battles.

Created by the keeper of time
Time is usually the biggest impediment in life. It doesn't wait for anyone and keeps ticking incessantly.

Cast aside by using ancient tricks
Set aside or relegated by using age-old tactics.

That changes your state of mind
These tactics or schemes can have an immense impact on one’s mental state.

They got you catering the whims of the flesh
Modern lifestyle tends to focus on gratifying our material and carnal cravings.

Before you get your paper right
Before one can achieve good fiscal stability.

Call me old fashioned
Consider me to be someone who belongs to a bygone era when values of simplicity, integrity, and transparency were held high.

But back in the day
During traditional times.

There wasn't no shorties in sight
During old times, socializing with women was not a prominent affair, and people usually focused on more important aspects of life such as work and family.

First come job then come marriage
People used to give importance to being financially stable before marrying their partners.

Before shorty come out with the baby carriage
Before starting a family of their own.

Just clap yo hands just clap yo hands
Celebrate and acknowledge life's sweet moments with a collective hand clap.

Radio used to be local untouched by the man
Radio channels used to play music made by independent artists who were not backed by large corporations.

Songs we used to sing used to mean something
Songs used to carry a deeper sentiment or describe real-life experiences rather than being just commercial.

Now they just bland like the drummer
Modern songs lack soul and depth; they have become mediocre at best.

Where's the real drummer? Michael B.
This is a tribute to Michael Bland, an acclaimed drummer who has worked with Prince.

Mint Condition, Morris Day
These are other musicians and icons that Prince admires and probably means as being real musicians.

Jellybean wishin' Sheila E and Brother John, sometimes me
These are more references to notable musicians that Prince admires.

'til dawn
Until the early hours of the morning—often used to indicate that the party went on all night.

If the White House is black
If a black man is occupying the highest post of the land.

We gotta take the radio back
We need to create a new wave in the music industry that is independent of corporate influence.

Power to the people
Giving power and control to the people.

Put this thing on repeat go back to one
Keep playing this song from the beginning.

And just move your feet tell your friends
Dance and don't hesitate to spread the joy to your friends.

Prince and the Mplsound we can't be beat
An expression of confidence in his music, saying he cannot be beaten.

Suckas
A casual, slightly dismissive or contemptuous term by which to refer to detractors, critics, or those otherwise perceived as uncool or inferior.